Speculation is rife following a massive underground explosion that took place on Bree Street in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The explosion resulted in one confirmed fatality and injuries to approximately 48 people, according to the Gauteng province.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the number of people injured in the Johannesburg CBD incident has risen to 48 and a body of 1 person has been retrieved from the site.
Two people are in critical condition, 30 with Minor injuries and the other nine are have experienced moderate injuries.
Egoli Gas has claimed the explosion was not the result of a gas leak. In a tweet, Egoli Gas said it believed “it is unlikely that the explosion in Jhb CBD, Bree Street, JHB was caused by a gas pipeline or leak. Our network has experienced no pressure loss which indicates the gas pipelines are intact. Our customers in the area continue to receive gas uninterrupted.”
Egoli Gas is a piped natural gas reticulation, servicing more than 8,500 customers across various markets in the Greater Johannesburg area with regulated servicing the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal industries.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi told media on the scene that emergency teams were assessing the area where gas could still be smelled in the air even after 8 pm on Wednesday night.
Lesufi said that it was extremely worrying that even though the gas explosion caused massive destruction to the tarred road and possible damage to the foundations of a number of high-rise buildings in the area, onlookers were still in the area walking around.
He has further confirmed that Egoli Gas experts were on the scene still assessing where the gas explosion emanated from, what is the gas that is currently being inhaled by those in the CBD and how best to control the situation.
Egoli Gas Detects A “Small Leak” On One Of Its Pipeline
Egoli Gas has confirmed a “small leak” in its servitude pipeline located at the intersection of Bree and Eloff on a 100-millimetre pipeline.
A servitude is a limited right that one entity has to the use of another’s property, and Egoli Gas’s pipelines run along the sides of roads rather than in the center, where the explosion took place.
The company believes that the crack in the pipe was caused by the collapse of the road and is currently working to repair the leak.
Egoli Gas stated that the pipeline running along the servitude of Bree Street has been examined and found undamaged.
The company also noted that about 15 other utility lines, including a sewerage line, run directly beneath the street.
“Our pipelines run on the servitude of the road,” the company re-emphasized.
Egoli Gas also reported sightings of one or two blown-off manhole covers and a visible white, gas-like substance emerging from these openings as well as from some exposed road cracks.
The company clarified that piped natural gas is not visible to the human eye, suggesting that the visible emissions are likely from warm steam.
Joburg Explosion: 48 Injured, One Dead As Egoli Gas Denies Responsibility
